More and more companies now create or purchase software applications for their own businesses in order to improve internal processes and customer experiences. As a result of this trend, there is ever-increasing demand not only for the creating of these specialized software applications, but for the testing of these applications as well. In the past, teams of highly-skilled computer programmers (also known as software engineers) were needed to create the applications, and teams of highly-skilled quality assurance professionals were needed to test the applications. Lately, tools have become available that allow companies to buy software solutions and customize particular applications even if they have little or no computer programming experience. However, software application testing remains a more highly technical task.
Testing any kind of customized applications for proper functionality, as well as errors or bugs, may take place at various times during and after the initial development. As applications get updated over time, testing is often repeated. Often, testing during the initial development of a software application and ongoing testing of software updates to the application is time and resource intensive; usually, the ongoing testing requires the extended attention of quality assurance professionals. In order to reduce the time necessary to perform certain tests, certain testing processes have been automated. However, even with the most advanced test automation, individuals with specialized knowledge of computer programming are still needed to troubleshoot automated testing issues. As companies increasingly try to add new software applications and improve existing ones, improvements to the automation of software testing are sought.